Question. When you end up with a strained back and your doctor puts you on bed rest for a couple days, you have a lot of time to do which of the following:

A) Watch Friday Night Lights

B) Eat Cheese Nips and cookies out of boredom

C) Realize you need to make a change

Trick Question. The answer is D – All of the Above.

A couple years ago, I lost 30 pounds on my own. I didn’t give up any foods or go on any special diets. Instead, I cut down portions and ramped up the intensity of the workouts I was already doing at the gym. It was a very healthy and safe way to lose weight.

After two years of injuries and extreme stress (the first year due to huge personal losses and the second year due to happy things like buying my first condo and getting my dog, Harry), my weight has climbed up again. Not all of it, but enough to let me know that something isn’t working. It’s beyond vanity. I don’t feel good and I’m extremely self-conscious. You would think since I’ve already lost weight I would be able to do it again easy peasy. Not so. The weight gods are mean! Plus, I’m starting off with an injury.

I strained my back because I had tweaked it in December, didn’t let it heal, and started working out again too soon. But I had a New Year’s weight loss resolution to keep so I ignored the pain. Big mistake.

What does this all mean? I need a plan. A plan that makes sense. A plan that goes back to basics about exercise and nutrition. A plan that doesn’t discourage me or kill my spirit. So allow me to introduce you to…

The Sparkle Plan

The Sparkle Plan will involve big goals and small goals. I blog here at least once a month, so I’m going to use that time to update you on how I did with my goals and set new goals for the next month. Also, a big reminder that goals can alter or change along the way. But for now, this is what I’m setting. Let’s get started.

Big Goals

I would like to lose 25 pounds by the end of 2014.

Run a 5K.

Small Goals – January

Since my back is still getting better I can’t do too much in terms of exercise (which is killing me!). But once I get the green light from the doctor, I’m going to start small. I would like to do 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week. It doesn’t even have to be 30 straight minutes. Just purposeful movement for 30 minutes. Dog walks not included.

No eating after 9pm.

We are on M&M overload in my office. I don’t want to deny myself completely. So I will allow myself one day to have some M&Ms. The other 4 days I’m at work = no chocolately goodness for moi.

That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. (Seriously, I have to stick to it or next month’s post is going to be super Debbie Downer.) I hope you will all support me in this scary venture and that I can inspire some goal-making for you too.

In the comments below, feel free to offer advice and/or support. And if anyone wants to publicly announce a goal or two of their own, that would be awesomesauce, and I might just include you in next month’s post. Until then, wish me luck!

*I am not a doctor or anything close to a doctor. In fact, I wouldn’t even be able to play a doctor on TV – too many technical words. Always consult your own physician before embarking on any fitness or eating plan.

Way to go Kerri. And since you publicly outed yourself, I’ll humbly follow in your sparkly footsteps. My goal is 10 lbs. So there you go. Now it’s been memorialized. I started not only going to the gym in my building but also to the classes. They’re great. Kicking my lazy behind. And we have an evil M&M issue at work too. Dang those M&Ms. Let’s keep each other honest. And way to go!

Just say no, Masha-Mermaid. Freaking M&Ms. Yesterday was a tough M&M day for me. I would have chopped someone’s arm off for some peanut butter M&Ms. 😉 Love your goal and love that you are taking classes. Any Zumba going on there?

I thought you were calling this the sparkly pink glitter plan??? 🙂 So you are awesome…you know that. And I have been so inspired by you and others the past couple weeks. I have been waiting to implement a 2 week plan to a healthier life. People say it takes 2 weeks to make or break a habit. So every 2 weeks I want to implement a healthy change to my lifestyle. My first change is to drink water before every single meal. I really want to get in the habit of that. And I think it’s great we can all share this journey with you – and share our own journeys. You are super brave and determined and I see nothing but greatness for you in 2014!!

Kerri, I applaud your goal-setting and your public-accountability. You can do this, and I’m excited to cheer you on throughout the year! I have been trying to reincorporate exercise as part of my daily routine for some time now, and it’s been working the last couple weeks. The single most helpful thing for me is to set small, reachable goals. For example, I tell myself I only have to work out for twenty minutes. There’s always time for a twenty-minute work-out, right? But then invariably, once I start, it is easier to go longer than twenty. Good luck!!!

Good luck Kerri! My backpedaling started at with Hallowe’en in the office and I didn’t manage to get the brakes on until about a week ago. :-/ So I’m with you! And I look forward to following your progress.

Kerri,
So proud of you!!! Weight loss is tough, but I’m confident YOU can do it! One thing I’ve kept under tight wraps is that since mid October, I started on my own weight loss journey. The method I’ve used in the past and am using now, which is AMAZING, more so for inactivity for any reason, is the South Beach Diet. It shouldn’t be called a diet in that, it teaches you how to eat healthy, plus, gives you confidence once you lose the weight in that that you know how much to eat to keep it off. I’m working to incorporate exercise into my weight loss regime, but I’m not always the best. And, I’m keeping more toward phase 1 of the diet, but giving myself Sunday’s to enjoy foods that I love. I’m proud to share that since mid October I’ve lost 17.2lbs, and I hope what I’ve shared has inspired you to believe that you CAN do it. My goal, 64.4lbs. I BELIEVE IN YOU!!! *Hugs*

I’m with you, Kerri! Let’s all sparkle together! I had two fabulous workout days in a row this week, and I’m actually eager to get back to it!

An amazing realization: my gym’s Aqua-Fit class is GREAT and FUN. The water supports me and it’s hard to strain something — of course, you must also *exit* the pool at the end of class (boo).

So here’s my Sparkle Promise: I will quit Weight Watchers, go to the gym more and be accountable to myself, and only myself, for my weight — back down to my Personal Best dress size and figure by summer, and maintaining through 2014.

Second Sparkly Goal: I will submit. Something. This. Year. And keep a submission in the loop. All year. Until contract materializes. (Alethea, wave a sparkly wand!)

Kerri,
I’m signing up for the Sparkle Plan. I tried to get motivated to do the Ruby Slippered Writing thingie for Winter, but, alas, I couldn’t get myself going…
I’ve been trying to just do some squats while I’m in the shower rinsing my hair, but I almost fell on the sudsy water while trying to multitask. I’m rethinking that idea. I did march in place while blow drying my hair. I just can NOT find enough hours in the flippin’ day anymore.
BTW, why isn’t dog walking considered exercise? I would totally count that! I count walking downstairs to grab some chips as exercise. Or running for the phone.
And how many M&Ms do you allow yourself? Maybe you should give them to yourself like doggie treats. One hour of exercise gives you 5. Or something like that.
Here are my goals for the rest of January: Try to lose two pounds by any means necessary–except puking or taking laxatives because that’s cheating in my book. Do some type of exercise for a total of one hour a week. Limit eating after 9 at night. (Thanks for that one). And finish first half of revising my newest book. That’s it. That’s all I’m doing. I’m doomed to fail because I suck at self control, but we shall see…
Good luck on your Sparkle Plan! Keep us posted.

Evie – thanks for stopping by! I’m glad I’m not alone in the office-food-trap. My office is nuts. We have a lot of people who love to cook really amazing things and bring them in, but it can become a bit much. Just ask my waistline. 😉 Stay strong!

Go Kerri! I’m with you on the weight loss goal, but mostly I want to stop feeling creaky and out of shape. I want my energy back. My goals are to go to barre class on Mondays, walk on Wednesdays, and Zumba on Fridays. And to stop mindless eating. I eat pretty healthy except when I don’t.

This was very inspiring and is making me think about my goals too. I like the drinking water advice and shorter but frequent exercise times. I want to eat healthier and get 10,000 + steps a day. And a big goal is to declutter my house!

I hereby declare that 1) you are awesome and 2) I support you 1,000,000,000%.
I’m truly looking forward to reading your monthly progress and I think you set some very doable goals for January. This is my last year in the 30’s and I want not to feel creaky as Lynne put it also. I think it just means to stay in motion. I know you can do this because you are a determined little mermaid and you are a surivor. 🙂 You go, Hero!

I’m in with you. We are the same person I’m convinced, right down to those damned M&Ms. I’ve decided that the fattening aspect of the M&Ms doesn’t seem to stop me from binging on them but I’ve noticed how badly I sugar crash after having them, so I’m trying (make that struggling) to remember how exhausted I feel shortly after eating them in the hopes that’ll make me turn the other way. Just now I made tea instead. Hardly a substitute for candy, but a much wiser one…thanks for the incentive!

3 weeks ago another mom at parent-pick-up told me about T-Tapp, a non-impact based exersice. It’s all based on inch loss and doesn’t focus on weight. The lady that started it, Teresa Tapp had a bad back injury and had three vertibre fused. And, she thinks doing 15 min is plenty of you use compound muscle movements. You can see several of her exersice methods on her website and youtube for free. At first I felt kind of silly doing the movements, (it kind of reminds me of the old Jane Fonda tapes our mothers used to do,) but I ended up with a 15.5 inch loss that first week just doing the free videos. (I did order some of her videos and have had over a 30 inch loss in these three weeks.)
I feel as if I have a lot more energy and focus and I feel really good.
Good luck with everything and conrats on your condo and puppy!